On October 6, 2016, The European Institute held a lunch discussion with a delegation from the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic & Monetary Affairs (ECON) led by The Honorable Roberto Gualtieri, ECON Chairman and The Honorable Siegfried Mureșan, Spokesman for the European People’s Party and Substitute Member of ECON. Chairman Gualtieri and Mr. Mureşan, along with other representatives from the ECON Committee, discussed the current status and environment of the banking union as well as the changes the European Union may need to make in order cope successfully with challenges such as Brexit, the need for greater economic growth, and the implementation of a common deposit insurance scheme. Despite differing views on some subjects, the delegation agreed on the necessity of the completion of the bank union.

European Affairs

As the nations and people of the North Atlantic hurtle towards 2017, the populist forces which are unraveling the certainties that have bound them together since World War II become more powerful with every passing week. Britain’s vote on June 23 to “Brexit” the European Union (EU) was not the first centrifugal explosion. But it was certainly the most dramatic signal of changing times until November 8 brought the election of Donald Trump, an economic nationalist and diplomatic isolationist, to the U.S. presidency.

Italy’s overwhelming vote on Sunday (December 5) against an over-confident PM Matteo Renzi, left bankers scrambling to shore up the country’s third-largest lender and prevent other Italian banks from collapsing under both the staggering burden of unpaid debt (an estimated $393.47 billion, or €365 billion) and a weak, intransigent economy. By Monday’s close in Europe’s markets, Italy’s bank stocks had fallen overall by two percent,[1] a decline that was probably offset by widespread expectation of the “no” vote.

In a recent address to scores of enthusiastic fans at his huge palace in Ankara, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared himself ‘shepherd’ of the nation, citing in Arabic from the Prophet of Islam. For Erdogan’s ardent supporters, Turkey is a rising Muslim powerhouse under his strong leadership. Ankara’s traditional alliance with the West is only an impediment to Erdogan’s neo-Ottoman expansionism abroad and sultan-type dominance at home.

On November 13, the Republic of Moldova, a member of the EaP (EU’s Eastern Partnership), and EU member state Bulgaria held final second round presidential elections, with Russia-friendly candidates emerging victorious in both instances.

Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election has produced worldwide bewilderment. Some of this may prove justified, depending on how Trump performs. But in part it is a reaction to the way we Americans conduct our election campaigns – the oceans of money, the media’s overweening role and the tested and proved tactics of “going negative”.

OUR MUST READS

- Ben Antenore

Will the EU Fall? Three Scenarios, Four Explanations, by Frédéric Mérand, Université de Montréal, published as a blog of the American Sociological Association. A crisp and insightful summary of the EU crisis and where it could lead. Recommended by European Affairs.

- Owen Phelps

The flow towards Europe Interactive chart showing refugee flow into Europe, country by country, based on UN data. PUBLISHED 26.10.2015 | BY VILLE SAARINEN AND JUHO OJALA

Recommended by European affairs.

- Owen Phelps

The collapse of the US-EU Safe Harbor: Solving the new privacy Rubik’s Cube, by Brad Smith – President and Chief Legal Officer Microsoft Corporation. A thoughtful post (Oct. 20) by the President of a company seriously impacted by the recent European Court of Justice take down of the “safe harbor” provisions of the EU for data transfer out of Europe. Smith lays out principles for moving to a new and better win-win formulation without plunging the world into “digital dark ages.” Recommended by European Affairs.